Family Stories

“I am a single mother of 2 amazing children…divorced 3 years ago. My daughter, Mackenzie, is 12 and my son, Kealan, is 6. I am white and their father is African American. My kids are super close…we all are. They have a sibling bond unlike anything I've seen and I love it!Being an interracial family, especially in the South, I have to explain to kids why I'm not the same skin color as my children. Grown adults ask me if my children are adopted or if they even belong to me.”

“We are a rainbow. My wife and I are a progressively liberal lesbian company defiantly living in the middle of East Cobb. We have been together for 12 years, and currently have 2 children at home. One is 15 and my daughter from a previous marriage but considers my wife just as much her parent as her biological father. The other is our 5 year old grandson who we have had custody of his entire life (My oldest daughter was 16 when she found out she was pregnant). The rest of our family has moved out already.We are not a nuclear family. One example was when my wife and I were married over the summer, I had to go to court to legally change my name. I often have to carry around things like power of attorney and legal papers to get things done that a typical wife or husband would have no problem with. Since my wife is actually the stay at home mom but not the biological mom or grandparent, she often falls into situations that other families would not face. Secondly, my 15 year old has severe bipolar disorder.”

“My dad spends almost half of his time working in Africa fighting polio outbreaks, my big sister is studying to become a doctor in Texas, my little sister is studying to be a nurse in Seattle, and my mom is in Atlanta, just a few miles from me (where I work in global health). We all share a passion, a flame we can't blow out, for helping improve the lives of people who haven't had the opportunities we have. We hope to one day have the chance to serve communities overseas again; I wouldn't be surprised if we're all working or studying internationally at some point. We've been through a lot as a family, but we are stronger because of it, and excited to make the most of every day we have!”

“Aaron was raised on a former Atlas Missile Silo in Kansas. He is of German, Swiss and Irish heritage. Dionne was born in Canada to Jamaican parents whose ethnic mix includes Chinese, Indian and Scottish. Her ethnicity is a peripatetic as her life. She has lived all over the country. They have been married 2.5 years and are expecting their first child, a little boy, in March.”

"We do not all live in the same household (though we did briefly). My son lives full time with my boyfriend and I. His father is at our house regularly. We eat meals together, drive together to my son's sporting events, and share holidays together. My boyfriend, my son and his father regularly go to the movies together. My son's father even watches our pets when we travel."

“I once thought it was distinct from others, but I now see that I am part of a collective of mothers and fathers who worry about their children, particularly their sons, when they leave the house. When my children were younger, I rarely let them play beyond the yard. As my son got older and taller, and his voice deepened, I had to talk to him about how people may perceive him, right or wrong. And before he left for college, I talked to him about how he should act when approached by police. When he’s home driving my car, I hold my breath just a little bit until he’s back home. As I explained to a friend recently, it’s something that as a parent you think about constantly.”

“We are heroes and overcomers. My family consists of me, my twin 3 year old sons, and our 2 dogs. Its not the ideal situation not having a father in the home but we make it work with lots of support from family, extended family, and close friends. I was in a long term relationship, and when the boys were born their dad walked out. The boys had a very rocky start, they were born 4 months early and were not expected to survive the NICU. Once they survived the NICU they weren't expected to walk or see or have typical learning ability. We were given the worse prognosis but they boys have wowed everyone with their progress.”

“Being a mixed race family is often eye opening, particularly living in a moderately affluent area. There are often reference to how light skinned my husband is "to be black" and that he looks "Arabic." For myself, when I was home with the children, I would often get asked what my children's fathers (plural) looked like because they were of different complections. Additionally, I am Indian and do not quite fit the mold, My hair is highlighted blonde and both my children have dark brown hair. So in addition to assuming my children had different fathers, I have often been mistake for the nanny because I looked different from them.”

“Lilly has been the greatest accomplishment of my life. Her father and I weren’t married and she and I have been partners through everything. She is my whole world. As I mentioned, I am a single mother, whose former partner had difficulty with addiction and has been in and out of jail. Lilly has been exposed to things no 6 year old should deal with but she does so with amazing grace. Sometimes she is my rock. I constantly have to make sure to remember she is so young because she is poised beyond measure.”

"I was born in Caracas, Venezuela and moved to the US when I was 24 years old to continue my medical training in the field of ear, nose and throat. It is during this time were I met my wife, Laura, she was born in South Florida but was raised in Snellville, GA. We have two very different backgrounds."

“Sometimes we are faced with open discrimation for being interracial. Sometimes people struggle with a brown stepdad caring for his white stepchildren and seem uncomfortable around it. Blended families can face the stigma of divorce and being interracial on top of that means there is no hiding it!” - Gwen and Ronald

"Living in the South, homophobia almost kept us from having a baby. We talked long and hard and decided that we weren't going to let ignorance chose our destiny. I am so thankful that we decided to expand our family!

After 4 years, a commitment ceremony, and a baby, we finally got legally married in November! I would describe my family as perfect... perfect for me at least."

“Amor! We're a happy family of 2.5 (one on the way, due in January). Alba and I met when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras Central America in 2006. Alba is the vibrant aura of our family, and I (David) am the nerdy bit. We'll see what JJ is like in January, but currently he likes to listen to me play the cello and Alba laugh. Alba had polio as a child and now lives with an orthopedic brace in her right leg. We've struggled over the past few years dealing with Post Polio Syndrome and adapting to a new way of life here in Atlanta. "Pelados pero tranquilos!" It basically means we're humble and easy going folks.”

“Tony & I met in highschool, and have been on quite a journey together. Our journey has included years in graduate school; 5 moves (I think that's all); two cities; and two children. We try our best to show love in all the right ways; and mostly get it right. Sometimes, of course, we fall short. But we forgive, and hug, and laugh, and yell, and begrudge the mess and love it, too. We love to eat together; we love to sing together; we even pray together sometimes, too.”

"Marnus is from Cape Town, South Africa. I'm from Atlanta. We met overseas in eastern Europe where we lived and worked for an NGO. In many ways we feel our family is atypical. We live on a budget and stick to it every month. We strive to raise our girls with a fulfilling life without being materialistic. After 10 years as missionaries, literally "spreading the word of God" to people around the world, we're having a fabulously fun time diving into that with our kids in a whole new way. If I think about the values that are most important to us as parents, of course love is the bottom line. But Simplicity. Fun. and Relationship would probably sum it up best.”

While visiting girlfriends in Atlanta, I met Phillip at the IHOP off Cobb Pkwy[..] Phillip quietly gave the waitress a note to pass along to my table which said "if at all available I would like to meet you for lunch". I called him back and we spoke on the phone every night until I moved to Atlanta 7 months later.